


I am here in search of your glory

by neverending_shenanigans



Series: Dragon Age Prompt Exchange Fills [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-24 03:57:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19715761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neverending_shenanigans/pseuds/neverending_shenanigans
Summary: A collection of letters to Varric through which the story of Cordelia Amell is told. What reason might Varric have to inquire after her?





	I am here in search of your glory

_“I’m here in search of your glory.”_

Varric,

Are you writing a new book or what is this about? I may be from Ferelden, but I never met her, no. Not all Fereldeners know each other. I will write down what I know and then promise me to never write to me about this again, please.

You know most of what I know, too. The Hero of Ferelden was from the Circle of Magi in Ferelden, the tower at Lake Calenhad. Kinloch Hold. It wasn’t the Gallows, but I can assure you that it was not a place you just visited. I only passed by it in my time as an officer in the king’s army. Lake Calenhad was a very dark and deep lake and the tower seemed like a fortress, even from afar. Templars were patrolling the shore when I passed by. So it did not seem by any means a charming place. I still woul not compare it to the The Gallows, though.

As for the interior, I never did enter, but Wesley went there once. He mentioned books everywhere; it reminded him of a chantry school. And he met First Enchanter Irving. Wesley thought him a good man and was impressed by him. You never met Wesley, but he did not speak praise of mages easily, so if it is true that the Hero was handpicked to become a Grey Warden by the First Enchanter that is a credit to her talent.

That is all I can say on that. You will have to ask someone else for details.

And write to me on occasion on your whereabouts. I know Haven. It is a good place. The others inquire sometimes, and if you don’t want the Magpie to come to you, you should keep her posted on where you are.

Aveline

* * *

Varric,

Why are you asking around about _her_? Let the past rest.

\- Leliana

* * *

~~My friend~~. ~~Varric~~. ~~Master Thetras~~. My friend. ~~Can I still call you this?~~ How did you find me? ~~How is~~ I wonder if this is urgent if you reach out to me for it. You are endangering both of us. But I owe you much. Everything, really. ~~More than~~ You asked for ‘every tiny detail’, so here is all I remember, in hopes of something being helpful to you.

Cordelia Fausta Amell, that was her name. But you know that, don’t you. She was a couple of years younger than I was so we didn’t really interact in the tower. For a prison it was remarkably large and I was not a terribly social type. I saw her in the library sometimes; she loved books but she didn’t like cats. She had black hair. Don’t remember the eyes. She was small.

I don’t think we ever had an actual conversation. ~~But Karl~~ . The First Enchanter taught some of the more talented mages together sometimes, that is how i heard of her. She was something of a prodigy with shields and transfiguration. And very obedient; the “good circle mage” type.

A friend spoke of her sometimes and he always spoke well of her. Most other mages did. She was helpful, amiable. ~~I could have liked her if i could have seen past the First Enchanter liking her.~~ She really liked dogs, too. One of the Templars brought a Mabari to the Tower once, when his dog was about to whelp. She was allowed to help with it and got to name the females of the litter. One she named for her mother, the other she named Tyrdda. I remember that much.

I wasn’t around when the Grey Warden came to recruit her. I had been in Solitary already. And I don’t know what became of her either. From what I hear, she disappeared after the Blight. They wanted to make her a Commander and give her Vigils Keep, but she was untraceable. The Wardens ended up sending someone else. But you know that part already. Last time I heard her mentioned at all, she was considered dead by the Order.

And so you should consider me, too. ~~I am sorry.~~

-A

* * *

**Stop this. Leave it be.**

\- Leliana

* * *

Master Dwarf,

Does my niece know of this? Why did you send your letter to me via my daughter? And what did she mean, you have mutual friends? I don't like this. I don't like you, to be frank, and all of my niece's rowdy friends. You're to blame for what happened to this city. I hope you stand by your word, though, and are good for it. I will make sure to remind you of it the next time you are in Kirkwall.

There’s not much I can give you on that one either way. She was my cousin’s oldest child. Looked like the spitting image of her mother when I saw her as a toddler. The Amell hair and eyes. Her four younger sisters were mages, too, but they all took more after their father.

I saw very little of Cordelia. Revka and I weren’t close. She was pretty stuck up, always trying to lecture me. Leandra could have told you more about her. She adored the tiny one. Watched her together with Revka a lot, prattling on about how much she wanted children, too. In a way, maybe that brat is to blame for what Leandra did to our family. She was a toddler when Leandra left. Three or four, maybe. Still hadn’t shown her true colours. I wonder if Leandra would have done what she did if she knew the brat was a mage.

Our grandparents loved her, too, of course. And I remember mother being very jealous that her brother-in-law's daughter presented a grandchild for them before any of her children did. That was, of course, before the brat presented magic. Set her grandfather’s books on fire. I doubt she remained their favourite after that.

Revka never got over it, of course. When Uncle Fausten died a couple of years later it was a real blow to her, too. She couldn’t handle it. Just up and left her husband with her four other daughters. Straight up disappeared. The rest of them left after that, too. I don’t even know if she’s still alive. At least she was spared finding out that they were all mages, too, eh? Another chapter in the Amell's shamefull history.

And I hear hear Cordelia became a Warden and died the Hero. So much for that.

Now I expect you to pay up soon,

Gamlen

* * *

Master Thetras,

I don’t know what you and our Spymaster were so heatedly arguing about earlier, but please refrain from doing it again when I am showing guests around in Skyhold. We are freshly arrived here, we need to present a united front.

\- Josephine

PS: You are worrying the Inquisitor, too, in case you didn’t notice. I caught her staring at you quite a lot recently. And she has stopped taking you along. There is quite enough on her shoulders already, don’t you think?

* * *

Master Tethras,

When you came by earlier your request surprised me. But your Inquisitor is a fine woman has done much for my people. I am still surprised that she has kept her word and is treating us as allies.

So to honor this, I will do my best to write down for you what I know of the Hero of Ferelden. Be aware, though, that I never met Amell personally. What I know is second hand knowledge. For one, First Enchanter Irving occasionally wrote to me of his protégés. It was a common custom among most Circles to evenly distribute our most talented mages and send them elsewhere to foster their talents. I don’t know if you are aware of this, and Madame de Fer will certainly be able to tell you more of the Circle Politics if you wish to know more.

Amell he wrote of several times. She was brought in fairly young, no older than eight years, I believe. Her family was originally from the Free Marches and I am sad to admit don’t remember how she ended up in Kinloch Hold. I was First Enchantress of Montsimmard at the time and there was a lot that needed my attention.

What I do remember is that Irving considered sending her to us even before her Harrowing. He thought her gifted with Shields, and Montsimmard was known for teaching the ways of the Knight Enchanters. But her interests seemed elsewhere. She did a lot of research into Transfiguration, which is difficult to handle, so Irving wanted to supervise it himself. He sent me one of her early papers. It was fairly interesting. It is common for Circle Mages to learn to transfigure themselves into progressively larger and more complicated animals, but Amell had started to do research into other kinds. My speculation is that she was trying to change into other human beings. I can only guess what her plans had been with that kind of research, but it does not need much imaginations.

The other second hand reports were from Duncan. I suspect that is what you alluded to when you mentioned my ‘Warden Past’, but yes: Duncan and I were fellow Warden recruits at the time. Sadly, he wrote to me only once before the tragedy of Ostagar. He never mentioned Amell by name, but he seemed to have great hopes for a new mage recruit. He considered her smart, driven and someone with the ability to lead. 

I am sure that the Wardens lost much when she disappeared. But I hope she has found happiness somewhere.

A small, final note, Master Tethras. You may wish to question your Commander about Amell if you are doing research on her years in Kinloch Hold. First Enchanter Irving strongly believed that a good bond between Templars and Mages could foster a more positive atmosphere in the Circles and almost encouraged friendships. I do not mean to gossip, but Irving worried that she held affections for one young Templar that exceeded his hopes for friendship. This was the second time he considered sending her away. I belief it is why he agreed to make her a Warden.

With best wishes for your research,

Grand Enchantress Fiona

* * *

Varric,

I could have stopped your letters if I wanted to but I stand by my word. But since you seem to be avoiding me, I am forced to write this down for you: stand by your words as well. Leave her alone. It is her decision – whether she wants to reveal herself or not. She has paid the price for her short period freedom threefold. You know why she was at the Conclave. This is hard enough for her as it is. Let her carry her burdens the way she wants to. With the name and face she wants to.

\- Leliana

**Author's Note:**

> Original Prompt by anonymous over at dapromptexchange.tumblr.com:
> 
> "Write a codex entry about your Warden from the position of someone who only met them once or was witness to their deeds but never got to meet them formally. What do they have to say about the fabled Warden?"
> 
> Less codex entry and more letters that spiral into a really weird story somehow. Internet cookies to whoever understood the convoluted story i was trying to hint at.


End file.
